Three Things

Summer-forward, veg-forward dinners, an impromptu party for my mom, texting with college kids

Greetings eaters and readers! What’s for dinner tonight? Might I suggest Cioppino with garlic bread? Or a summery Sicilian Eggplant Parm or Smashed Pea Toasts with Ricotta (that photo tho, I’m starving now) or Colu Henry’s Melted Summer Vegetable Pasta with Anchovies and Lemon Breadcrumbs? (How good does that look?) I’m making the Tagliatelle with Chickpeas from my new book — a dinner that is so easy I could send you the recipe in one text. Speaking of which, you have just under one week to pre-order and receive my free mini-manifesto 10 Rules I Live By For Happier, Healthier Days (Except for When I Don’t), a little day-in-the-life mini book with tips on everything from healthy snacking to plant-based protein-packing, plus a list of every single book that’s been mentioned in this newsletter since January 2024. Lastly, thank you for all the feedback on my book tour announcement. I have two more events to add to the line-up including a virtual hang-out on Zoom with the wonderful Department of Salad’s Emily Nunn (September 26, details forthcoming); and a joint book party with Jodi Levine at my old stomping grounds HudCo, in Dobbs Ferry, NY on Wednesday, September 18. (Register here.) I’m also working on a Burlington-area event in October, so stay tuned for those details and others. For now, here are Three Things I’m excited to tell you about this week…

My current screensaver ❤️

1. Summer Menu Series, Part 6: An Accidental Party

Last weekend, my nephew, Owen texted me: “Can I come over for dinner?” As you know, this kind of text is right up there with “I’m in town, can I swing by?” on the Jenny leaderboard of texts, and within a few minutes we had a plan. It would be the last time I’d see him before he headed off to his first year of college, and for some reason I instantly zeroed on Pretzel Chicken with Honey-Mustard Sauce to anchor his send-off dinner. Then word got out with my daughters and my nieces, and as the day went on, the invite list kept expanding. And so did the menu. At the last minute, I told my mom to hitch a ride with Owen — it was her birthday later that week so naturally we’d make this a birthday party on top of everything else. I threw my cover-recipe tomato tart in the oven, prepped some polenta with cheddar and basil, made a simple salad with market greens, and picked up an old-school Checkerboard Cake at William Greenberg. (I’m such a sucker for an old-school cake!) I definitely started the cooking too late to call the whole operation “effortless,” but I did realize after the fact, that everything was make-ahead or could be served at room temperature, four magic words to any entertainer. And thus concludes Happy birthday, Mom! Good luck, Owen!

ICYMI: Parts 1 through 5 of my Summer Menu Series in a few cool buttons:

2. This is me trying not to write about tomatoes

I know there is no such thing as having too much tomato content this time of year, when you should be working them into every possible corner of your dinner plate, from gazpacho to pasta with the simplest fresh tomato sauce — but I don’t want to give short shrift to other summer superstars, namely green beans. Please don’t sleep on them! I keep picking up haricot verts (French skinny beans) at the market and gravitating towards them on restaurant menus. So herewith, three no-recipe recipes for making the side player shine.

Blistered Haricot Verts with Pesto Trim your beans of their stringy ends, then throw them in to a hot cast iron pan set over medium-high heat with a little bit of olive oil. (You don’t need a lot.) They will sizzle and spit a bit, but don’t touch them for at least 4 or 5 minutes. You want a good char on one side before you start tossing them around. At that point, toss them every minute or two until they are blistered and shriveled and cooked through (taste one, they should be firm-tender, not mushy), then toss with store-bought pesto and a little Pecorino. If you don’t have pesto, smash some basil and olive oil using a mortar and pestle to make an herby oil and drizzle all over.

Green Beans with Toasted Almonds and Herbs Bring a pot of water to a boil and simmer your beans for about 3-4 minutes. (Test one, when they are firm-tender, they are done.) Immediately plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain and dry. Add a generous handful of sliced almonds to a dry cast iron pan set over medium-high heat and cook until toasted, about 3-4 minutes. Toss beans with almonds, a drizzle of good olive oil, a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and chopped basil or chives.

Green Beans with Buttermilk Ranch and Toasted Breadcrumbs This was a dish I ordered at an excellent cafe called No Comply Foods in Great Barrington (top photo, beans in upper right corner), so I can’t take credit for it, but I plan to recreate the dish with my own buttermilk ranch dressing at some point in the near future. And yes, I’ll probably toss in some tomatoes, too.

3. Texting with College Kids

This is the time of year when my phone is exploding with emojis like 😩and 🥹and 😭, all of which do an excellent job of capturing that specific I-know-this-is-the-way-things-are-supposed-to-work-but-I’m-still-wistful feeling that accompanies sending a kid off to college for the first time…or the last time…or really anywhere in between. If you are new to parenting a college student, a quick note of advice that you might not have received yet: Prepare yourself psychologically for the panic attack you’ll experience several times a week when the inevitable one-word text “Mommmmmmmmmmmm” pings on your phone, and you stare at those taunting three dots awaiting follow up to see if someone needs to go to the hospital…or just wants advice on what to make for dinner. I address the particular brand of torture in Get Simple (along with beginner dinner suggestions, natch) but as I type this, maybe this just happens in my house? Please normalize. Please enlighten.

Good luck, everyone! 😭 🥰 🥹🥹🥹😭

Jenny

Only a few days left to pre-order my book and redeem your FREE gift!

In honor of my upcoming book, The Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple (out in one week!) I’ve put together a bonus gift for anyone who is nice enough to pre-order. It’s a little manifesto called 10 Rules I Live By For Happier, Healthier Days (Except for When I Don’t), a little day-in-the-life mini book with tips on everything from healthy snacking to plant-based protein-packing to a hot take on reading the newspaper, plus a list of every single book that’s been mentioned in this newsletter in 2024. (Rule 10: Read Yourself to Sleep.) You can click here to redeem the Bonus Book. If you pre-ordered the book months ago, a) thank you, you’re a real one! And b) just dig up your purchase number and enter the information where prompted. Thank you so much for the support.

Or just order the old-fashioned way…click on your favorite book vendor below:

Penguin Random House | Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble |
Hudson Booksellers | Books A Million | Powell’s | Target | Walmart |

Named one of Forbes Magazine’s Best Cookbooks of Summer 2024. 🎉 🎉